28 killed in gas explosion in coal mine in China

Beijing: At least 28 people were killed and one got trapped after a gas explosion rocked a state-owned coal mine in central China`s Hunan province.

A total of 35 miners were working in the Xialiuchong Coal Mine in Hengyang city when the mishap happened around 6 pm on Saturday evening. Six have been rescued and sent to hospital for treatment, according to authorities. Some 40 rescuers were searching the remaining one trapped, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Family members and relatives of the coal mine workers anxiously waited at the site during the rescue work, with many bursting out in tears after hearing the news of the death of the 28 miners.

Luo Lin, head of the State Administration of Work Safety, and Xu Shousheng, Governor of Hunan Province were directing the rescue operation at the site till this morning. The state-owned Xialiuchong Coal Mine, a 40-year-old mining enterprise located in Changjiang township in Hengshan county, is a legally-operating mine with more than 160 miners, according to Xinhua.

This is the second mine accident in the last three days causing casualties due to gas burst. Seven miners were killed and 11 others were missing after a gas outburst hit a coal mine in central China`s Henan Province October 27.

A spokesman with the provincial work safety authorities said the gas rush had happened shortly after the midnight, when 18 workers were operating underground at the Jiulishan Coal Mine in Jiaozuo. Coal mine accidents continue to take place almost every week in energy-hungry China despite measures initiated by the government to increase the safety measures.